Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is sitting down with Oprah Winfrey.  According to Harpo Productions, the two women have never crossed paths before, and this will be the first time they meet.  The interview is set to air Monday, November 16th – one day before Palin's new book,  "Going Rogue: An American Life," goes on sale. 

Palin, Sen. John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election, was a polarizing figure who was both applauded and mocked for her folksy style. Following her unsuccessful bid for VP, Palin stepped down from her post as governor of Alaska, which garnered her some criticism.

 Is "Going Rogue: An American Life" on your reading list? Will you watch Oprah November 16th?

Considering the popularity of "Twilight" and the phenomenon it has launched, it stands to reason that others would try to replicate it. Hence, the recent profusion of young adult novels that, for lack of a better term, I like to call “Twilight Wannabes.” If you’ve walked by any major bookstore in the last year, you’ve seen them in the window display...books with titles like "Vampire Academy "("Twilight" meets Harry Potter?) and "Blue Bloods" ("Twilight" meets "Gossip Girl"?). Their covers even look like "Twilight"–black with a single image of a flower or fruit.

I love Stephenie Meyer’s series,  so I had studiously avoided the whole flock of what I considered her imitators. But when I heard that Disney bought the film rights to the latest Twilight wannabe – "Wings", by first-time author Aprilynne Pike – and had attached teen queen Miley Cyrus to star as the heroine Laurel, I decided that I had to give it a try. And to my surprise, I liked it. A lot. Probably more than the first "Twilight" novel (cue outraged gasps from Twi-hards everywhere).

In many ways, the story echoes that of "Twilight": a teenage girl moves to a new high school, only to become entangled in the conflict of two mythical species. This time, instead of the Cullen family of vampires and werewolves, the warring parties are trolls and faeries (I won’t spoil the faerie mythology except to say that it’s incredibly creative). Of course, Laurel quickly finds herself the center of a love triangle, caught between her reliable, human friend David, and the mysteriously sexy faerie Tamani. It’s easy to see why Disney snapped this one up. They’re targeting the "Twilight" audience, trying to do with faeries what Summit Entertainment – and HBO, and now the CW – have already done with vampires.

Which got me to wondering, will it work? Will Miley Cyrus and her costars be able to rival the famous onscreen chemistry between Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson? Miley, who’s made it clear that she wants to break out of the Hannah Montana mold, obviously believes so.

What do you think? Can faeries overthrow vampires and become the new phenomenon, or will the undead remain our favorite supernatural creatures?

–Katie McGee, CNN Entertainment Unit Intern

Growing up, I was a huge "Little House on the Prairie" fan. I couldn't get enough of Walnut Grove, the Ingalls family, the one-room schoolhouse, Pa's fiddle… even Nellie Oleson. So naturally I jumped at the chance to attend a Q&A followed by a book signing where I met Melissa Gilbert - Laura Ingalls Wilder herself - whose tell-all memoir, Prairie Tale has just hit bookstore shelves.

(Left to Right) Melissa Panetta, Summer Panetta, and Elaina Benfante share a love of “Little House on the Prairie” and were thrilled to meet Melissa Gilbert.

I at least thought I was a big LHOTP fan… until self-proclaimed "Little House fanatic" Chris Czajka informed me that rabid fans are known as Bonnetheads. One word.

Czajka creates educational materials for the "Little House on the Prairie" musical; a 40-city tour of the show is set to kick-off later this year. Czajka also told me that Bonnetheads regularly attend the show in full on prairie-era costume. Rocky Horror, anyone?

I interviewed Gilbert; and being the LHOTP fan I am (I am not cool enough to call myself a Bonnethead… yet!), I  strictly talked "Little House."

Katie McLaughlin: On "Little House on the Prairie," did you acquire any skills that didn't quite translate over to modern-day life, yet are fun to show off at parties (IE: butter churning)?

Melissa Gilbert: I can drive a stagecoach, fire a rifle, rope a horse, and play a mean game of poker.

KM: Do you have any mementos from the "Little House" set?

Actress Melissa Gilbert poses for a photo while signing copies of “Prairie Tale.”

MG: I have the first dress I ever wore on the show - the red one from the credits –- framed and hanging in my house. I have the original pilot script; I have my motel key from when we filmed the pilot in North Carolina, and the sign from Wilder Room and Board.

KM: Your favorite episode, "The Lord is my Shepherd," was about how Laura moved to a mountaintop to be closer to God because she felt guilty that she did not pray for her sick infant brother, who died. Do you realize that there are no mountains whatsoever on the prairie?

MG: Yup! Why do you think it took me so long to get there?

KM: Do you have the covered wagon-shaped, 60-disc "Little House" complete series DVD set?

MG: Yes, and I had to buy it on Amazon myself.

KM: I can't believe you had to buy it yourself! By the way, I think it would have been cool if the DVD set was shaped like the house itself - instead of a wagon, don't you?

MG: That would be nice. It'd also be nice if I got a cut of the profits.

– Katie McLaughlin, CNN

Given the mountain of movies, TV shows, records and books released in 2008, I would be foolish to make a list of the "best of" the year. I will leave those lists to others.

"The Dark Knight": It should be nominated for best picture.

What follows is simply a list of favorites from the year just past. Feel free to contribute your own favorites, either in the comments or on iReport.com.

Movies
- "The Dark Knight": Though Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster occasionally suffers from popcorn-movie overload, the serious issues - how do you fight terrorism? How do you cope with a world gone mad? - and the terrific performances by Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Heath Ledger give the year’s biggest movie a depth few others attempted. It should get a best picture nomination. Really.

- "Man on Wire": James Marsh’s documentary on Phillippe Petit’s tightrope walk between the Twin Towers is thrilling, sad and ultimately triumphant.

- "Wall-E": I didn’t think much of the human characters, but the sublime interplay between Wall-E and Eve - or Wall-E and anything - is worth double the price of admission.

As for films just opening, I have high hopes for “Frost/Nixon” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” among others … but I’ll have to squeeze them in over the holidays.

Records
- "Dear Science," TV on the Radio: I can’t remember the last time I agreed with Rolling Stone magazine. But this will do it.

- "Harps and Angels," Randy Newman: I hadn’t paid attention to Newman’s work in years - "Land of Dreams" may have been the last one - but this album, with Newman’s bluesy half-sung vocals, has the sharp observation of his best work. Newman sounds like he’s given up on the world, but he hasn’t lost his sense of humor - or a touch of anger.

- "Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8," Bob Dylan: Perhaps this shouldn’t count - it’s a collection of alternate takes and unreleased songs from the last 20 years - but Dylan makes even his most familiar work sound fresh. May he continue for many more years.

Books
- "Nixonland," Rick Perlstein: Perlstein can be occasionally glib in his history of the 1960s and early ‘70s, but as he connects the dots from the crisis of the cities to the Vietnam War to the era’s culture clashes, what emerges is a brilliant picture of a country falling apart – and how a shrewd politician like Nixon could take advantage of it all.

- "Pictures at a Revolution," Mark Harris: The five best picture nominees of 1967 wouldn’t seem to have much in common, but as Harris’ terrific book illustrates, they tell a story of how one Hollywood gave way to another.

- "John Lennon: The Biography," Philip Norman: I started Norman’s book wondering what he possibly could add to the story of the Beatles – one he told so well in "Shout!" more than 25 years ago. I finished in admiration of his abilities to give new perspective on Lennon’s life - and grieving all over again for Lennon’s death.

I’d also like to give nods to books from previous years I finally read, including William Goldman’s "The Season" (1969) (a beaten-up paperback I found in a Chicago bookstore and bought on a whim), Jeremy Larner’s "Nobody Knows" (1970), Junot Diaz’s "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" (2007) and Alan Weisman’s "The World Without Us" (2007).

OK, your turn. Have at it.

– Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer

Though I really don’t get any more time to read in the summer as I do in, say, February, there’s something about the idea of “summer reading” that prompts me (and, judging from the countless stories out there, others) to make up foolhardy lists of all the books I plan to immerse myself in over the next three months.

The irascible Lewis Black has a new book out.

So here’s what I plan hope to get to before Labor Day appears, knowing full well that this list will last about as long as a chill in August:

- “The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America,” Thurston Clarke (Henry Holt): I cried when I finished Evan Thomas’ RFK biography, and I expect to feel the same sadness when I get to the end of this new book about Kennedy’s ill-fated 1968 campaign.

- “Nixonland,” Rick Perlstein (Scribner): Perlstein’s book about the splintering of America, and its exploitation, should be a sobering bookend to “Last Campaign.”

- “The Enchantress of Florence,” Salman Rushdie (Random House): I hope to get the chance to interview Sir Salman when he comes to Atlanta in July to talk about his new novel, a romance set in the 16th century.

- “The Salterton Trilogy,” Robertson Davies (Penguin): I loved Davies’ Deptford Trilogy when I read it several years ago - particularly the amazing “Fifth Business” - but I haven’t returned to the late Canadian author. I hope to rectify that oversight.

- “Armageddon in Retrospect,” Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Putnam): Vonnegut’s final book is a collection of unpublished stories, many set during the waning days of World War II he described in “Slaughterhouse-Five.”

- “Me of Little Faith,” Lewis Black (Riverhead): The Comedy Central curmudgeon is fiercely entertaining on the air. Will he do the job on the page? (His first book, “Nothing’s Sacred,” worked pretty well.)

- “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Mark Twain (Bantam): Each summer, my book club reads a classic. I haven’t picked up either of these books in years; I hope they hold up. (Incidentally, I highly recommend Ron Powers’ brilliant 2005 Twain biography, “Mark Twain: A Life.”)

If I can maintain my usual book-a-week pace, I should have time for a few others. David Sedaris’ new collection? John Szwed’s Miles Davis biography, “So What”? To paraphrase “Jaws” Chief Martin Brody, I'm gonna need a bigger list.

What’s on your shelf for the summer?

– Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer